Rocket States crosses the disciplines of Cold War Studies, American
Literature, American Studies and Cultural Studies. The particular
attraction of this study lies in the combination of its range-close
textual and visual analysis of the correlations between land and
weaponry, set firmly within its political and cultural
contexts-with its unique analytical approach. The book offers a
synthesis between history, theories of technology, theories of
space, popular culture, literary study and military science. It
illuminates a variety of literary texts from key writers and
thinkers such as Pynchon, Stephen King, Norman Mailer, and Tom
Wolfe, while also invoking figures like Nikola Tesla, James Webb,
Batman and Ronald Reagan. Organised topographically, according to
how missile technology manifests itself differently in particular
locations, Rocket States's geographical targets are Colorado,
Kansas, Cape Canaveral and New York, variously titled 'Excavation',
'Preservation', 'Evacuation' and 'Transmission'. It advances
through these states roughly chronologically, beginning in the late
1940s and early 1950s and coming to an end in the first part of the
21st century. Collignon's argument is concerned with identifying
the recurring figures and fantasies of the Cold War: the dome or
parabola as sheltering techno-form; the fictions of total security
adapting to constantly changing targeting strategies; gadget love;
closed, freezing worlds. As such, Rocket States analyses by what
processes the Cold War is frequently literalised in its weapons
installations and how these facilities, in turn, shape dreams of
containment, survival, escape and techno-supremacy.
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